I submit prayer requests to the Kotel (Western Wall) through
TeamGenesis's e-mail. I suppose there are hundreds of thousands
of people bringing requests to the Wall every year. What happens
to the requests that do not stay tucked into the Wall? If they
fall onto the ground, are they swept up and disposed of in a religious
ceremony? I don't imagine that all the requests would stay put
for an indefinite period of time.

Dear Jeffrey J. Samoska,

Officially, the attendants at the Wall are supposed to make sure
that all the papers that fall on the ground are replaced. About
three years ago there was no more room for people to put their
prayers into the cracks and crevices, so the Chief Rabbinate together
with the Jerusalem municipality organized a team of volunteers
to clean out all papers to make room for new prayers to be inserted.
The papers that were removed were buried in accordance with Jewish
Law.

We are a Jewish couple with a two and a half year old "chewish"
dog that is our only "child." She is very clean, very
lovable and pretty well-behaved. My wife wants her to sleep in
our room every night with us. I don't think it's appropriate.
I think the bedroom should be private. What do you think?

Dear Name@Withheld,

It's difficult to give a definitive answer to a question about
someone else's private affairs, especially since it doesn't only
concern you, but it concerns a very important and significant
other (No! I don't mean your dog!). But I can offer my opinion.

I agree with you very strongly that your room should be a private
place for husband and wife, and your "child" shouldn't
be there (especially if above the age of Bark Mitzvah).

I suggest that, without causing any marital strife, you try to
get your wife to agree to other arrangements for your "child."
Perhaps you could make some kind of trade-off, like agreeing
to spend some extra special time each day with the dog, e.g.,
reading to it, or helping it with its homework.

In dog terms, your child is over 17 years old, old enough to sleep
by himself. Make him a really comfortable little spot he can
call his own, and he'll be happy as a hound.

Could you please tell me about the ancient practices regarding
tree-planting and the birth of a son and a daughter?

Dear Les Galler,

In Talmudic times, when a boy was born they planted a cedar tree;
when a girl was born they planted a pine tree. The poles of the
wedding canopy were made out of the wood of the trees that were
planted at the birth of the bride and groom.

I recently gave money to a non-profit organization. When I
heard that they publicly post the names of those who give to their
organization, I asked (pursuant to Maimonides' principles of charity,
as well as general modesty provisions) to have my contribution
posted as an anonymous donor. When I suggested this however,
the fund-raiser suggested that, for a variety of reasons, it was
likely that having my name posted would result in some people
giving who would not do so otherwise. For the time being I am
listed as anonymous, what do you (and halacha) suggest?

Dear Name@Withheld,

As you wrote, a very lofty way of fulfilling the mitzvah of charity
is to give anonymously. Of the eight levels listed in the Code
of Jewish Law, this is the third highest level.

However, if a specific person's donation will serve as a source
of motivation for others to donate, then it would be correct for
the donor to allow the institution to advertise his donation.

If publicizing the donation will cause difficulty, then it shouldn't
be done. For example, if advertising the donor's name will inundate
him with appeals from charities that are beyond his means or interest,
he shouldn't allow his name to be published.

The Gemara (Berachot 55b) states: Rabbi Zeirah said "Whoever
sleeps seven days without having a dream, is called a bad person."
Do you have any suggestions what did Maharsha say on this?

Dear Moshe Mayor,

As you may have noticed, Maharsha doesn't expound on this
statement. He cross-references the two places in Tractate Berachot
where this statement appears.

Rashi explains the basic idea as follows: Dreams are sometimes
Divine messages. Seven days without such a vision indicates that
the person is unworthy of Heavenly communication.

The Vilna Gaon has a different explanation: Life is like a dream,
ephemeral and fleeting. If a person senses this, he will focus
on the eternal purpose of life - studying Torah and doing mitzvot.
Someone who goes seven days without sensing that this world is
like a temporary dream has lost sight of the real purpose of life.

Why seven? Because for six days a person is busy pursuing a livelihood.
He can therefore be forgiven for losing sight of life's temporary
nature. But if he goes seven days - including Shabbat -
without focusing on spiritual pursuits, he has abandoned life's
real purpose.

My name is Avi Rosner and I learn in the Mir Yeshiva here in Jerusalem.
I'd seen Ohrnet around before, but just this week actually read
it. It proved extremely insightful and informative. Your "Recomended
Reading" list proved very helpful. I enjoyed the entire
magazine greatly.

Regarding the Yiddle Riddle that Haran must have been the first
to die after the Mabul: I enjoyed the proof but there may be
one more possibility. The Rosh (Bereshet 7:23) says Og
also saved his mother from the flood, who later gave birth to
Sichon. Although Og and Sichon both outlived Haran, its quite
possible their mother died before him. Thank you very much and
tizku lemitzvos.

Avi Rosner, Jerusalem

I quite enjoyed your Yiddle Riddle about Haran. I am not sure,
though, that I agree with the conclusion.

According to the solution offered, the Zohar would be saying that
after the Mabul, until Haran nobody died before his father, when
in fact until Haran nobody died AT ALL. This is like saying "Until
Shaul, nobody from Shevet Binyamin was King of Israel," or
"Until Bill Clinton, no US president named Clinton was elected
to two terms." This does not seem to be a smooth reading
of the Zohar.

In fact, the Vilna Gaon, cited as the basis of this reading, seems
to hold that the events at Ur Kasdim occurred when Avraham was
70, 12 years after Noach died. This would make Noach, not Haran,
the first to die after the Mabul (unless Noach's wife died first,
which is possible even according to your answer).

The Nitzotzai Oros suggests that the Zohar means that Haran was
the first to die in front of his father. Then it would
be totally unclear who died first after the Mabul.

In "Public Domain," it was pointed out that the Chicago
Rabbinical Council gives kashrus certification to non Jewish owned
restaurants which are open on Shabbos.

The proof was from Dunkin Donuts. True, the Dunkin Donuts is
open on Shabbos and a mashgiach does not "pop"
in during Shabbos (only on motzei Shabbos) even though
it is located in the center of the religious neighborhood. The
CRC policy is NOT to give a hechsher to a restaurant owned
by a non-Jew which is open on Shabbos.

But, since Dunkin Donut is a franchise, which has very strict
restrictions about only using franchise accepted ingredients/products,
and since franchise rules require they open on Shabbos, and since
it's more like a bakery whose ingredients do not require full
time supervision, the CRC allows them to remain open on Shabbos
without supervision.

I just want to tell you how much I enjoy Ohrnet. It really
adds to Shabbos. A few weeks ago when the post office was on
strike in Israel I was unable to receive it, and I really missed
it. Keep up the good work.

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